Hunted
by NinjaGlader
Summary: After the Overlord is defeated by the Golden Ninja, Lloyd disappears, leaving no trace of his whereabouts. Zane and Kai crash somewhere unfamiliar, while searching for him and discover land outside of Ninjago. Little do they know what lurks in that land and that they are about to be part of a game. They are about to be hunted. Rated T for violence.
1. Prologue

Prologue

"They're here master," a woman bows in front of a black door, from which behind comes a low, satisfactory growl.

"How many?" a low voice behind the door inquires.

"Only two; the white and the red ninja."

"Do they know about our plans?"

"No master. They crashed here and are stranded here without any knowledge of him or us."

"Keep watching them. We need to be certain of what they know. Bring the prisoner to me and plant a spy among the outsiders."

"Yes master," the woman says and walks away from the back door of the courtyard. She heads to the very right side, where another black door is. The two guards give a cursory nod and unlock the door, then open it. The woman enters into a stone cell with a single prisoner in it. The prisoner, who is only a teenager, is chained to the wall, curled up on the ground. His blond hair is matted and his entire body is permeated in blood. He opens his eyes slightly, seeing nothing but a figure stooping over him. There is no difference between day and night in that place of evil. Who knows how long the teen has lay there, counting the seconds, minutes, hours, or days?

"Get him up. Today is D-day," the woman commands the guards. The men bow and unlock the teen's cuffs, then drag him to his feet, unmercifully. He stumbles and his eyes roll into the back of his head. The teen drops to the ground and the one guard lifts him onto his back, carrying him outside as the other guard locks the door. They bring him to the left of the courtyard and enter another dismal room, a torture room to be precise and chain him to a post, eagle style. The woman goes to a weapon rack and selects a whip. She stands about ten feet away from the captive and lashes him with one, swift stroke. The teen lurches forward, awake and gasps in sudden surprise and pain. Blood oozes from other open wounds he has sustained for quite some time. The woman cracks the whip and lashes him again, smiling in evil delight. The teen bites his dry, bleeding lip emitting a slight groan.

The woman hands the weapon to the larger of the guards and says to him, "Why don't you join in the fun a bit yourself? After all, I can't hog all the entertainment, can I?"

The guard grins widely and speaks enthusiastically, "Thank you Captain Miller." He gladly accepts the whip and takes the woman's place. He delivers several lashes to the teen, with far more force than the captain. All laugh as they watch their young captive in excruciating pain, stifling a cry. He finally lets it out and they laugh all the more.

_How much longer will I survive? _the teen thinks to himself.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Vines

I do not own Ninjago. Please rate and review! :)

Zane opens his eyes, feeling an adrenaline rush; he sits straight up, hitting his head on the ceiling of the plane. He groans, while rubbing the spot and feeling a bit disoriented. _What happened? Where am I and why do I feel light-headed? _He twists his head and sees Kai next to him, unconscious, still strapped in his seat belt. He grabs his brother's shoulder and shakes him gently, "Kai? Kai, wake up!"

The plane shifts slightly. Now he remembers. Lloyd went missing two weeks ago and he and the others went in teams to find him. The plane malfunctioned and crashed on land, quite close to the water, but he currently felt as if the ground would drop. He turns and leans out the window as the plane shifts again, more noticeably this time. From his perspective, it looks as if the small aircraft is stuck in a cluster of trees and tangled vines about perhaps, one hundred feet above ground. Zane swallows, attempting to calm his nerves, and to think of how to get down. The plane is angled slightly downward and begins sliding slowly forward. He turns back to Kai and shakes him frantically. "Kai! Kai, wake up!"

Kai opens his eyes groggily, and glances round him. His dark eyes widen with alarm when he feels the craft sliding down and asks wildly, "What's going on?"

"There's no time to explain, besides that we're stuck in a plane in the trees. We need to get out of here now!" Zane screams.

"How?" Kai questions.

"Open your door," I instruct him. Kai makes an attempt, but it won't budge.

"Try yours," Kai tells me.

Zane's pops open, but he backs up, fearing the drop.

"What are you doing?" Kai asks.

Zane sucks breath in his artificial lungs and carefully makes his way to the edge of the craft. The plane slides forward frighteningly, but not all the way, causing him to lurch forward. He falls out of the craft and Kai grasps his left arm, screaming, "Zane! Watch out!" Zane dangles over the edge, his stomach dropping and his arm pulling painfully. He sees a vine within reach and stretches his hand out, grabbing it, uncertain if it will hold him. There is no time to consider it.

"Kai let go of me!" Zane screams, "We need to get out of here, quickly!"

"But, you could-"

"The longer we remain, the more likely we will die! Hurry!"

Kai reluctantly lets go and Zane grabs the vine with his other hand, sliding down, frightfully close to falling. He twists his head once he has a good grip and stares at Kai, who is reaching for another vine. It's barely out of his range. _How will he get out? Time is pressing! _"Kai! Listen to me. I am going to grab the farther away vine, while you get mine."

Kai nods and exclaims, "Be careful!"

Zane transfers to the other vine quite easily. Kai is about to do the same, when the plane breaks free and plummets. Kai leaps out of the craft and grasps the vine just in time. They both pant heavily, muscles straining to keep hold of the plants. _What do we do next? _Kai thinks. "Zane, can you swing to that tree behind you?" he asks.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Prepare

The dreams have not ceased for quite some time, the teen dreams of the same thing every night. His family and friends searching for him, his mother is crying and his father is comforting her; they wonder where he could be and why he has not returned home. A guard splashes cold water on the teen's face, startling him awake. He lifts his head slightly, feeling stinging pain all over his body.

"Captain, do you think he's ready for our plan?" the guard asks the woman.

Captain Miller ambles up to the captive and grabs a handful of his hair, yanking his head up. He stares into her eyes with a mix of bitter hatred and fear. She sighs and releases him from her grip. "No, he needs a little more, then we can begin the extraction. He needs to be a burden to the two in order for our game to be adequately entertaining and successful. Hand me that knife," she tells the guard, pointing to a thick weapon on the weapon rack. He gives it to her and she lightly touches the teen with the blade, sliding it across his throat, hardly making a scratch on him. She then draws the knife back and thrusts it into the teen's left side. He retches, crying out as she draws the blade back unmercifully. "That out to do it," she says and hands the guard the knife, "now, prepare for extraction."

Zane swings back, then forward with all of his strength and releases the vine, hands outstretched towards the branch of the tree. He grasps it just in time and scrambles onto another branch, out of Kai's way. He stretches out his hand to Kai, who swings, but right before he can reach Zane, his vine snaps. He drops. "Kai!' Zane screams and grabs Kai's arm with both hands. They both hear a sound of creaking and cracking. Snap! The branch gives way beneath Zane and both fall at a frightening speed; the rocky ground rushes up to meet them as they helplessly watch them head to the stones. Zane's foot gets caught on another vine, closer to the ground, causing him to flip and face downward.

It too snaps upon impact and both ninja drop to the hard floor. Zane smacks his head against a stone, scraping the left side of his face, sending sparks off him. Kai is fortunate, and falls onto the leaves but it knocks the wind out of him. Both struggle to sit up, feeling momentarily out of breath. "What do we do now?" Kai asks, voicing the obvious question.

"What do we do?" Zane repeats quietly, wondering himself. "First of all, we need to scavenge the plane for supplies. You did bring a survival kit and gear, right?"

"I think so. We better look because the sun will be setting soon and night will be upon us."

They get up and observe the wreckage, finding nothing much else but a first-aid kit and a damaged flare gun. _Well, so much for survival gear. This is necessary but insufficient, _Zane thinks to himself, not wishing to bring ill thoughts to Kai.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Lloyd

"We better find some shelter before it gets dark," Kai says.

"Which direction?" Zane questions him.

"Why don't we go straight? We won't lose our way if we do."

"That's fine then."

The two walked for a little while, seeing nothing but overgrowth and swarming insects. Kai constantly scratched and slapped bugs in the intense heat. Mosquitoes were numerous and kept biting him. Kai put his ninja hood on to keep them away, but failed to deter them from his face. Zane, of course, did not have such an issue since he's a robot and is okay, except if an insect touches his face, where his exposed robotic parts are. He could see perfectly fine, but could not scan out of that eye to search for anything. Eventually, he spots a cave of some sort and both go to check it. Zane halt right outside the entrance, while Kai leans against a nearby tree. Zane picks up a stone, hurling it forward. There is an echo, but nothing else is heard. No animals come out so it ought to be secure. Abruptly, Zane perceives a whining sound and grabs Kai, pulling him to the ground as an arrow strikes the tree.

"What was that?" Kai coughs as both stand up.

"It's an arrow, with a message tied to it," Zane states the obvious.

"No duh, Tin Can, but who sent it?"

"I don't know. Look at it while I scan the perimeter." Zane does a quick sweep of the place while Kai plucks out the arrow, but takes a little more time, because of his left damaged scanner. When he finishes, he asks Kai, "What does it say?"

"It says this_: To the Ninja who foolishly crashed in our land, read this carefully. You three are about to be participants of our game. When I mean 'three' I am including my prisoner, Lloyd, who is at my place. Follow the map I attached to the arrow, or else you will never see the Golden Ninja again. That is when the hunt begins_," Kai reads, furrowing his brows.

"How do we know this sick individual speaks the truth?" Zane inquires.

Kai holds a hand up and says, "Wait, there's more_. I am under the presumption you will_ _not believe me, so I have put a little bit of proof here for you._" The ninja gaze at the letter, with bloody words that wrote: _Lloyd G. is here_. Both gaped at it in disbelief and anxiety. Kai basically wrenches the map off the arrow. He observes it for a moment, but sighs and hands it to Zane, speaking softly, "I can't read this kind of map, can you?"

Zane looks at it and responds, "Yes, I can."

"Well, then what are we waiting for? Let's go and give them a reason not to mess with ninja and rescue Lloyd!"

_They didn't even lock the door. Why didn't they? Aren't they afraid of me escaping? _Lloyd wonders. He sits in a chair with a tube attached to his chest and many other ones in different patrts of his body, without chains, just ropes tied carelessly round him. Perhaps they didn't find him a threat. Lloyd remembers when he was a kid, and he was tied up in 'Darky's Boarding School for Bad Boys' and smiles painfully. _I wonder if the others will ever find me. _All of a sudden, the door bursts open and Zane and Kai rush in. Lloyd squints in the light, not having seen brightness for quite awhile as both brothers hurry to his side. Kai unties the ropes, while Zane removes one of the tubes from Lloyd's body, causing him to scream in intense pain.

Kai covers his mouth and squeezes his hand tightly, saying, "It's okay. Let Zane take them out. Just bear with it."

Lloyd nods, stifling another cry as Zane gently takes out two at once, from his legs. He next pulls out two from Lloyd's shoulder. Lastly, he reaches down to Lloyd's left side, beginning to remove the final tube. Lloyd screams, breaking free from Kai's hold and lurches forward onto his face. As he falls, Zane yanks it all the way out, blood gushing from Lloyd's fresh wound.

"Are you okay?" the two ask, not quite certain what to do. Lloyd coughs, turning, reaching for his side. A voice laughs in the room. The two ninja whirl round gasping in amazement and confusion. Lloyd lays there, utterly petrified.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

3 Hours

Zane drops his mouth slightly open. There is a television attached to the wall with a man's face on the screen. _How could electricity be in here? _The face is partially masked, but the eyes of the man are bright red and a long scar is across his cheek.

"Ninja, here you three are. I have planned something particularly thrilling for you. It's my game. I am about to hunt you, but before that, I have a few rules for you to follow. Rule number one: hunt or be hunted. Rule number two: anyone else who meets you can join the game. Rule number three: there is no method to defeat us!" the man laughs in a somewhat metallic tone, "You have a three hour head start; the hunt begins now."

_Perhaps he is not human which would explain only the eye color_, Zane thought.

The screen turns blank. "What do we do?" Kai turns to Zane.

Zane stares at the wall for a moment then replies quietly, "I think we ought to take care of Lloyd first; then discuss our plight.

"Good thinking." Kai looks around the room and exclaims frantically, "No, the first aid kit; I left it at the cave!"

Zane's face forms a look of concern, "Are you certain that's where you left it? You could have dropped it on the way over. Look for it in here first. I'll help Lloyd."

Kai gets up and searches while Zane turns Lloyd onto his back. "Lloyd, I'm going to have to take care of your wound, so bear with it, okay?"

Lloyd bites his lip, nodding. Zane grabs a knife from the weapon rack, and, keeling down, begins cutting off a portion of his brother's clothing, tearing it off the wound. "I found the first aid kit," Kai returns with it in his hand, and sets it on the floor. When he opens the lid, he stares at something in the box. "What's the matter?" Zane asks.

"This is not the first aid kit from the wreckage," Kai responds still staring. He turns the box and shoves it in front of Zane, who gazes at it, without much of an expression showing. On it were the words: _For Lloyd, for the hunt. _Zane's blue eyes flash red for an instant; then return to normal, before Kai noticed. He takes out disinfectant and some white cloth.

"Look for anything else we might need," Zane says. Kai takes off while Zane turns to Lloyd, rolling up a cloth and speaking softly, "I'm going to place this in your mouth. Hang in there." He places the cloth in Lloyd's mouth and grabs the disinfectant bottle, dabbing a bit on a cotton ball. He gently applies it to Lloyd's side. Lloyd bites down on the cloth and reaches out his right hand, grabbing Zane's left side of his face, causing sparks to fly off Zane. The robot yanks his hand away, dropping the cotton ball along with the disinfectant and screams. Kai rushes over, setting down the weapons he had found and setting the bottle upright to prevent it from spilling.

He sets a hand on Zane's shoulder, "Are you alright?"

Zane closes his eyes, though no one could see he did with his left eye and opens them. They are now bright red. "I'm fine," he answers in a more robotic voice and removes Kai's hand off him. Kai stares at him, quite taken aback by his brother's sudden change of demeanor wondering, if there's something malfunctioning in the droid's system.

He shakes Zane's shoulder and asks, "Zane is there something wrong?"

Zane's blank expression relaxes into an ordinary one and his eye color returns to blue again. He turns to his perplexed brother and speaks questioningly, "What happened?"

Kai is dumbfounded. _He doesn't remember!_

Lloyd coughs, placing a hand on his side, wincing. Zane doesn't say anything more, but gets another cotton ball and dabs it with disinfectant. He applies it to Lloyd, while Kai stares at him in utter disbelief and silence, holding Lloyd's bloody hand firmly.

"Ugh!" Kai throws the stick in frustration, "This will never ignite!"


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The Hunt Begins

"Let me try," Zane speaks softly and scoots next to Kai, picking up the stick and setting it on the other one, twisting it in his fingers on another stick. They have been attempting to start a fire after they moved into the cave with supplies they found. Lloyd is lying bundled up in a blanket, near the rear of the cave, next to a neat pile of wood, which is prepared for a fire. He cannot find sleep; he just lies there in pain, whishing he could help the others. He recalled the woman in the torture chamber, saying that he would be a burden to his brothers. He tries to shake the thought off and get some respite to escape the pain.

Smoke begins coming off the stick and Zane blows on it, while Kai rushes to a pile of leaves. He brings them hastily back and catches them on fire. He walks briskly over to the pile of wood and drops them on the middle. It ignites! Zane ambles over and Kai puts his hand up for a high-five saying, "Great job!" Zane nods and sits against the back wall, shutting his eyes. Kai gazes at his brother, concerned. He notices Zane has been acting strangely ever since Lloyd touched his robotic side of his face. _Maybe he's malfunctioning or upset with something I did. _Kai plops down and stokes the fire with another stick. The room is awkwardly silent.

"I'll take the first watch," Zane simply announces all of a sudden.

"Okay," Kai responds, finding it a bit strange. Why not? After all, Zane has always been unusual, and that makes him unique. Eventually, Kai lies down as well, sleeping soundly. Zane hugs his knees, shivering. He's not cold at all, because he's the ice ninja, not to mention the weather is extremely hot. He's afraid for Lloyd. He has an idea of what the tubes were for and fears for the teen's life. He was warned, during his blackout in the torture chamber, by a hideous, forgotten face that Lloyd is like this because of him. He also said that he is watching him. Zane barely dares to move, and just sits there, thinking silently. _Poor Lloyd. He hasn't even gotten over the trauma from the Overlord and his father. Now he has to deal with this as well._

Long after the fire dies down to a few embers, he feels sleep creeping up on him. _No, I can't sleep until my brothers are safe. _A twig snaps, and he opens his eyes instantly, leaping up. He grabs two ninja stars from a pile of weapons Kai had brought over, and held them out, searching for the source of the noise. Something snarls in the darkness, bringing a chill down the ninja's spine. He scans. Nothing comes up, but he is certain someone or something is there. He doesn't move, holding his breath for a long duration. Lloyd's labored breaths and moans become the loudest noise there. Whatever is out there is waiting for him to drop his guard. _Should I strike first? I better wait a bit longer and perhaps it will reveal itself. _

Abruptly, Lloyd cries out in his sleep and sits straight up. He groans and places a hand on his side, waking Kai up in the process. Zane glances at them, letting his guard down. He feels two heavy claws digging into his shoulders, knocking him against the wall. It's a tiger_. Perfect! Why is a tiger here?_ Zane drops one ninja star; his right hand is immobilized. He struggles to strike the animal with the other blade, but it won't back off, even though blood is dripping from its back. The animal sinks its enormous fangs into Zane's face sending sparks off him. Kai rushes up to the animal and thrusts a spear in its side, squirting blood everywhere. The tiger howls in rage and releases Zane, turning its attention to Kai. Zane picks up the ninja star and throws both at the animal. It swings to the side, making the weapons miss it by a hair. One of the stars imbeds in Kai's shoulder and he drops the spear. The tiger whirls round, staring at Lloyd. It smells his blood.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Zane

Zane grabs a stick and thrusts it in the embers, catching it on fire then shoves it at the tiger. It slowly backs up, growling menacingly as Kai plucks the ninja star out of his arm and Lloyd stands. The Golden ninja puts both hands together slowly forming a ball of electricity. _I have to concentrate. Come on Lloyd, concentrate! _He releases it at the tiger as it darts away into the bushes. Lloyd pants heavily, sweat dripping off his face. He turns to see Zane's eyes red again and his face has fang marks. He holds his arm, which is hanging loose by a few cables. "Are you both okay?" Lloyd asks.

"Yes," Kai says, "Fortunately, Zane's weapon didn't go in my flesh too deeply."

"What about you?" Lloyd turns to Zane, who doesn't respond, "Zane, are you alright?" Lloyd slowly walks to the ice ninja and waves a hand in front of his face. No response.

Kai comes over and claps his hands, "Zane, snap out of it!" They still get no response. Zane's florescent eyes pulse and produce a sizzling and popping sound. Both ninja step back, astonished and afraid their brother will explode or something worse. Zane lets go of his arm and approaches the others. He raises a leg and delivers a blow into Lloyd's side, making Lloyd double over. Kai rushes up to Zane and grabs him, throwing him on the floor. Both fight like mad, while Lloyd recovers himself and grabs the spear, flipping it over.

Both are locked together, rolling on the ground, making it difficult for Lloyd to hit the right ninja. He swings it down at the wrong moment, whacking Kai unconscious. Zane throws the fire ninja off him and lunges at Lloyd. Lloyd thrusts the spear at him, driving it into Zane's arm, snapping all the remaining wires, except one. Zane screams in a metallic voice, not in pain, but in anger. He grabs the spear and yanks it away, throwing it against the wall. Lloyd rushes out of the cave, barely able to run, his eyes flitting back and forth, frantically searching for a hiding spot. He spots a tree with low branches and scrambles up it, ignoring the pain.

"They should have been back by now! Do you think this has to do with Lloyd's disappearance?" Jay asks over the intercom the plane in a slightly static voice.

"Maybe, but maybe Sensei will be able to help. Who knows? They might have already found Lloyd and returned," Cole responds over the line.

Nya leans next to Jay in her seat and says, "I don't think so. They would have notified us already."

"Not necessarily."

"Definitely," she contradicts him.

"Hang on! I'm getting a message from Zane!" Jay announces holding up a little device.

"What does it say?"

"It says: _Land on the stretch of land below you right now, without telling anyone else or else they will kill Lloyd_," Jay reads to Nya only.

"Hey Cole," Jay presses the intercom again, "You go on and head back. Nya and I will do another sweep then return."

"Okay. See you later."

Lloyd's heart pounds out of his chest, as Zane stands right below him, oblivious that his prey is above. _Leave. Don't move a muscle Lloyd. Great! _His side is in excruciating pain. To make matters worse,blood starts dripping and running down the tree. _Please, don't drip on him! _A bit lands on Zane. He looks up with cold, soulless eyes, smiling.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Old Wounds

A plane suddenly comes into close range, beginning to land. Lloyd makes use of this opportunity and leaps out of the tree, doing Spinjitzu and landing on Zane. He feels throbbing pain in his leg and side as yanks the robot's chest open and fumbles for the power switch. Zane throws him off and wraps both metallic hands round Lloyd's throat, squeezing with immense strength for a broken arm. Lloyd chokes grabbing Zane's arms striving to wrench them off. A wire snaps. Zane's right arm drops to the ground. He still keeps his grip and slams Lloyd against the tree. He knees the teen's side three times before his victim can do anything. Lloyd bites down on Zane's arm, but only hurts his teeth. Zane laughs metallically and releases Lloyd from his grip. The Golden Ninja drops on one knee, staring at his brother, sad to see this happen. Zane's eyes flash blue and he falls unconscious.

Kai wake up, rubbing his aching head, seeing a blurry, dim cave with a few figures huddled by a fire. He blinks and everything becomes clear. His shoulder is bandaged and he's laying in the rear of the cave. Jay and Nya are by the fire working on Zane. "Zane!" Kai exclaims and rushes up to his lifeless body, "Zane, can you hear me?" Something catches his attention. Zane's arm is partially attached, with wires exposed. "What happened to him?"

"We don't know. We found him and Lloyd unconscious not too far away," Jay responds, pointing to the right. Kai sees Lloyd. His face is pale of hue and blood permeates his side and leg. Lloyd mutters in his sleep then wakes up.

"Don't do it!" he screams frantically, "No, no, no, no!"

"Calm down," Kai puts a hand on Lloyd's shoulder, "It's only a dream. You're okay." He helps Lloyd sit up, careful not to touch where his injuries are. _Everything bad happens to this kid._

Lloyd covers his face with his bloody (as well as sweaty) palms, trembling. "I thought he was going to kill me!"

"Who was?" Jay asks.

"Zane tried to squeeze me to death! He turned evil and tried to kill me!"

"Lloyd, calm down, you both are okay," Nya says reassuringly.

"Is Zane alright?"

"Nya and I jus t finished reattaching his arm. If he doesn't remember anything we won't tell him, but make sure he can't harm us. If he's still evil," Jay shifts uncomfortably, "Let's just turn him back on first, then we'll see." Everyone gathers round his beloved brother.

"On three," Nya whispers, "One, two, three."

She flips the switch. Zane's eyes open and he screams this time. "Jason! No, don't return to haunt me again! Get out of my life forever! Why can't you just leave me alone?" Tears stream down his cheeks. Everyone stares, quite taken aback by him, out of anyone, crying. He gets up and pushes past everyone, running out of the cave in wild fear and desperation.

"Zane!" they all call him, but he keeps running, paying no heed to their calls. He needs to be alone. He moves away, but not too far, so he won't lose his way and sits down with his hands buried in his face. _Jason is after me again. Why can't he leave me alone? Wait, I'm a ninja, so why should I fear him? I can fight and kill. No, I can't kill anyone, never again. _He thinks back to when Jane and Grandmother were murdered and he killed the man who did it. He can't bring himself to face the past any longer; he must not kill anyone else, except Jason. Thunder rolls and rain comes down in torrents, only to make the memory more vivid. Zane shivers.

Something cold touches his throat and a familiar voice whispers, "Hello Zane. I'm back, for revenge." Zane's heart freezes. It's Jason.

If anyone doesn't know who Jason is, I will say he is from my other story, 'A Nindriod's Tears: Forgotten.'


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Silence

"So, how long has it been?" Jason' s voice trails off into muttering then back to normal, "It's been five years and you aren't going to greet an old friend of yours?"

_He won't be able to harm you, Zane. Stop him while you have the chance or else he might harm your friends. You're a robot, and a knife won't kill you unless it hits your energy source. Why are you waiting for? Strike while you can! _Zane thinks, but cannot respond. He's not sinking back into trauma, but is completely immobilized, besides his eyes, neck, and head.

"You can't harm me anyway, so why should I threaten you with a knife?" Jason tosses it to the ground and sets a big hand on Zane's shoulder, "Hey, Hawthorn, do you even know what you've done to your friends?"

Zane stares at him ruefully, displaying resentment from the very depths of his soul; he despises the man who ruined his life with more hatred than a human can handle. "What do you mean?" he responds through gritted teeth.

"You don't know, but I do," Jason laughs, "This is what happened through your eyes." He pulls out his phone and plays a video of Zane attacking his friends and strangling Lloyd. As Zane watches, wild fear grows in his heart. He tried to kill his brothers? He would never do such a thing in his right mind, but here is the solid evidence, in front of his very own eyes. How could he? He promised never to kill anyone, nor to ever cry again. No, he didn't harm them, Jason did; Jason controlled him; it's not his own fault. Zane shuts his eyes tightly, but Jason yanks out a remote, pressing a button that forces them open. After the video is over Jason speaks softly while putting the phone back, "I am going to make your brothers kill you before this game is over, with you aware and unable to do anything about it. Oh yeah, and even if you try, you won't be able to save Lloyd," Jason smiles and presses another button as Zane opens his mouth, making him shut it tightly.

Zane sits against the tree for quite some time, hearing his brothers call him, still incapable of responding. Suddenly, he is able to move again. Well, besides that he opens his mouth and discovers he cannot speak. _Perhaps I ought to depart. I cannot endanger my family because of me, but what about Lloyd and the tubes? I could warn them and sneak off while they sleep and leave. I better seek them out, before they pass me. _He gets and hastily moves towards the calls, rustling the bushes as he runs. The cease shouting and he stops. Something's not right.

Abruptly, two figures leap on him, pinning him down. It's too dark to see well and Zane cannot call for help. "Tie him up!" a voice whispers loudly enough Zane can hear it. It's Kai. What can he do? He can't tell them it's him. The light! Zane activates it without the button and he glows enough the ninja can see him.

"Sorry Zane. We didn't know it was you," Kai says apologetically.

"Why didn't you say anything earlier?" Jay asks as he unties his brother. Zane shakes his head, pointing to his throat.

"What's going on?" Lloyd comes up slowly, "Zane, are you alright? " Zane nods slightly. "Why aren't you saying anything?'"

Zane opens his mouth, moving his lips, producing no sound whatsoever. "What happened?" Lloyd asks. Zane shakes his head. The others exchange glances, concerned. _Great, he's turned evil several times and now he can't speak. Can anything get worse? _"We better head back; Nya's waiting for us."

On their way to the cave, Zane grows uneasy. _Now, I can't tell them what's wrong with Lloyd at all. He might-no, you have to save him, somehow, but why aren't they tying or locking me up? I tried to kill them. _He shakes the though off and continues walking. Everyone is silent, even Jay, which makes everything increasingly awkward. Suddenly, as they near the mouth of the cave, dogs begin barking out of nowhere.

"How could there be dogs out here?" Kai voices the same thought as everyone else. The sounds are getting nearer and everyone rushes in the cave. "Nya, we have to get out of here now!"


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Bomb

Thank you everyone for the rates and reviews. Sorry that I am getting to the hunting part late, but this is most likely going to be a longish story.

The ninja and samurai hastily pack the supplies and each grabs a weapon. By now the dogs are almost here, and can smell the blood from quite a distance. One of the animals sniffs the tree Lloyd had been in and barks ferociously, alerting the rest of the pack and its owner. The man holding the animal's chain touches the blood, smearing a bit between his fingers. He unhooks the leash-the others do the same to their dogs-and release him. The pack race wildly, following Lloyd's scent.

"Hurry up, they're coming! Get to the plane!" Kai shouts. Everyone heads for the craft, but is cut off by the dogs. "Go around!" They move rapidly in single file with Kai in the rear, then Zane, Lloyd, Nya, and Jay. Judging by the sounds, Kai suspects the dogs are gaining on them. _Everything just keeps getting better and better. I hope we can make it in there. If we can't get off the island, peninsula, or whatever this is, Jay and I can fight the animals ourselves._

_Hang in there, Lloyd. We're almost there, _Zane speculates the Golden Ninja doesn't have much time between death by the dogs or the activation of the micro bugs. He shoves that thought aside and focuses on keeping up with the others and falls to the rear just in case anything happens. There is a clearing where the plane landed, surrounded by trees and approaching dogs. His heart sinks when he sees the tiny aircraft, while scanning it. It's too small. Wait, did he just see? _Is that an explosive? _Zane attempts to warn the others, but cannot. _What do I do to let them know? There's only one minute and thirty seconds on the bomb left! Stall them; stall them now before its too late! _

He spots a sharp knocks into Kai and drops onto the ground on top of the rock. Kai gets up and takes Zane's his arm, trying to help him up, but all Zane does is lay where he is, attempting to appear in intense pain. It's inadequate.

Jay runs back, shouting, "Nya, Lloyd, get to the plane first!"

_No, don't go! _Zane wants to scream. What can he do to get them out? He gets up and opens his arm up, thinking, _I hope this works. _Without hesitation, he rips out a few wires, sending shooting pain up his arm.

"Zane, what are you doing?" Jay asks frantically, but he ignores him.

Zane bites a wire to appear out of it. _I have to convince them I'm mad; keep doing it! _He bites another one, sending sparks into the air. The dogs have stopped at the edge of the clearing still barking, but not daring to approach. He rips another one nearly out. Kai and Jay grab his arms, pinning him down, while Zane kicks and rolls. They can't stop him. He breaks free and backs slowly away from the other two ninja; then touches a tree with both hands, slamming his head against it. Jay and Kai grab him again, but he struggles rabidly. _Sorry Jay. _He head butts the ninja of lightning, feeling a bit light-headed.

"Guys, we need help!" Kai shouts.

Lloyd and Nya hurry back, but are still a little too close the aircraft. "Zane!" Lloyd screams. He stumbles and Nya helps him regain his balance. _Great, now he's lost it! How are we going to get him on the plane? _"Nya, go ahead. Don't let me slow you down; I'm heading back to start up the engine."

"Okay, be careful!"

Nya rushes to them, while Lloyd turns, making his way to the opposite direction. _No! _Zane tries to scream again and regains his voice. "There's a bomb!"

"What?" Jay responds.

"Lloyd, get away from there!" Zane screams frantically.

Lloyd turns, calling back, "What?" The bomb ticks: three, two, one. Boom! Lloyd dives down as the entire craft erupts with orange and red flames, driving everyone to the ground from the impact. Smoke clouds the clearing, ascending into the air.

* * *

"What in Ninjago was that?" Cole exclaims. A loud but distant boom was heard. Sensei Wu and Cole look out the window of the apartment they've been residing in and see smoke and light in the distance.

"This may have to do with Lloyd's disappearance," Wu says, "Have the other ninja returned?"

"No, Sensei," Cole responds, growing slightly anxious, "Jay told me to head back and that he and Nya were going to search one more time. Zane and Kai took off and never reported nor returned."

"We need to find them. Let's take the Ultra Dragon and search."

"Yes, Sensei, I'll go and make preparations."


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Separated

_The Overlord is still shooting dark matter at me. My golden powers are no match against him and I am losing control. "Fight Father!" I scream, desperate to save him, "Fight him!"_

_Dad struggles and screams, going back and forth to the Overlord and himself, "Lloyd! You will not take away my son!"_

_I stare at him, hoping he can make it through, but he returns back to the hideous Overlord again saying, "Your father is gone!" He pulls back his dark matter and shoots it at me, penetrating through my golden power. I scream as he holds me in the air in a purple ball of electricity, and throws me aside._

"No, Dad!" Lloyd screams. He lies face down, with his leg and side in pain. _Did I win? _He slowly rolls onto his back and sees he is in burnt grass and debris. Not far away from him is a what-used-to-be aircraft. Lloyd shivers. It is early morning with barely any light and the ground is wet. The rain ceased some time ago, but Lloyd is chilled to the bone and is exhausted. _What happened? _"Kai? Jay? Zane? Nya?" he calls desperately, "Where are you?" Silence. _Where is everyone? _"Hello, is anyone there?"

He painfully sits up, glancing around for any signs of the ninja or samurai. The only live things he sees are vultures, circling round the wreckage. Some are tearing into some type of carrion. _Wait, what carrion is that? _He stands up, but falls to his knees, feeling weak, trembling. Several tan figures come out of the bushes to his left, speaking in a strange tongue that Lloyd cannot understand. Should he seek help? He'll die if he doesn't.

Lloyd opens his mouth when someone covers it from behind and yanks him down. "Don't move," Zane whispers in his ear, "If they spot you, they'll kill you. Lloyd holds his breath as they walk near the cluster of grass they are in. One of them halts turning his head from his left to his right, eyes searching for the source of the calls. He is looking directly at them, not moving.

_Can he see us? _Lloyd's heart pounds rapidly as the man approaches the bushes curiously. The man reaches out to move the grass aside, but someone calls to him at that moment and he hurries away. Eventually, the strange men are out of sight and Lloyd and Zane relax. Zane releases him and stands up looking in the distance. "Who are those people? How long have I been out?"

"I better answer your first question first. It's been ten days."

"10 days? That long? What's going on Zane?"

"The plane exploded-that's why I put up a false pretence of losing my mind, so you wouldn't go in there-and we couldn't find you. We were separated, and I have been surviving alone, hunted by those men, every day, unable to locate the others. I believe I saw the Ultra Dragon the day of the explosion, but they must not have been able to find any of us."

* * *

"Did you find them yet?" Garmadon asks anxiously as Sensei and Cole enter the apartment. Misako is in tears, not knowing whether her son is alive or not, looking up hopefully. Wu shakes his head, despondant.


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

You Lose

Lloyd stares at Zane in disbelief. He's been unconscious for ten days and no one's found him? He would rather be alone with Kai or Jay if he had to choose. He would even feel safer with Nya than Zane. He's unpredictable. _No, none of this is Zane's fault. He tried to save all of us; he was under someone else's control when he- _"So, what do we do now?" he asks. Zane draws in the mud with his shoe, not answering. "Zane?"

He looks up at Lloyd, "Pardon?"

"What do we do now?"

"Um," Zane seems uncomfortable and he starts fidgeting with his nails and says distantly, "What do we do?" He kicks a rock and then turns to Lloyd, his eyes glowing bright blue. He does a quick scan over Lloyd's chest and checks his organs. Inwardly he sighs with relief, _Okay, the micro bugs have not activated yet, but why? I thought they would have by now, but I am not certain if that is good or bad._

"Zane?" Lloyd calls him growing impatient, "Zane!"

"I think we ought to head where I have not explored, so we can find the others, if they are even alive," Zane responds quietly.

"By the way, I think I know how I can heal my injuries quickly. I could use my golden power in dragon form."

Zane nods slightly and helps him up. Lloyd puts both hands together, closing his eyes, slowly forming the electrical ball. Zane scans him just to be certain there are no issues and notices the micro bugs are beginning to glow with a silver hue. "Don't!" Zane screams and rushes in front of Lloyd, too close. The Golden Ninja is startled and releases the golden power, directly hitting Zane in the chest.

* * *

Jay presses a finger to his lips, sweating profusely, while holding Nya close. He can feel heat steaming off her and her trembling body against his. _Please, don't let them find us. _The bushes rustle as two men push through the tall grass with swords in the field to their right, searching for them. _We can't hide here forever, but what else can we do? Think Jay! Think! _"Nya," he whispers to her as the hunters advance, "Stay on the ground and don't make a sound."

He lets go of her and she grabs his arm anxiously asking, "What are you doing?"

"Stay on the ground okay? I love you Nya, don't ever forget that." He hugs her tightly for a moment and kisses her forehead; then pulls away from her grip. He gets up and darts forward, waving both arms in the air. The hunters spot him and pursue the ninja eagerly. Nya lies down, hearing more rustling and screaming, and takes a peek out of the grass. In front of her is a man, pointing a sword at her face. Before she can move, he grabs her and puts the blade to her throat.

"Don't move!" he shouts amidst the clamor, pulling her to her feet.

Jay sees them and screams, "No, don't hurt her!" He lays down the sword he had taken from one of the hunters, kicking it away from him. The man retrieves his sword and both get behind Jay, placing the blades against his neck. The man approaches slowly holding Nya.

When they come close, the man kicks Jay, making him drop on one knee. Jay glares at him, masking his anxiety and desperation with bitter hatred. The man smiles and says placidly, "You lose."


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Helpless

Zane opens his eyes, his entire body aching as he lay on his back, facing the crystal blue sky with forgetfulness. He stares up, not moving; not thinking; not hearing; not seeing anything that is going on in the world. Who knows how long he lay there. Lloyd wakes up, feeling no better or any worse than prior to releasing the energy ball. It seems as if no time has passed since he fell unconscious, but he wonders why he passed out from his golden power. _How long have I been out? _ He sits up, and sees Zane in front of him and remembers what happened. "Zane are you okay?" he asks anxiously and gasps in horror.

Zane's chest is ripped off, showing all his wires, bolts, and gears. Even the switches are strewn on the ground; fortunately, his energy source is protected and the blue piece is pulsing like a real heart. Lloyd sighs, partially in relief and partially in guilt. _Why did he try to stop me?_

* * *

Jay sleeps in the torture chamber, cuffed to the post, with whip marks covering his thin, half-starved body. Nya lies nearby on the cold, stone floor, curled up. Nothing has been done to harm her, but both of them are weak and sick from running for ten days. This day has been a nightmare from the depths of her heart. Her parents died from killers who made sport of them as well. Her memory about that time is blurred, but she knows her brother, parents, and she were present. There was a boy there as well, but she can't recollect his face, only his fearful, blue eyes of sorrow.

A woman enters the room with a syringe between her index and middle finger smiling wryly. She quietly ambles across the chamber, halting in front of Jay. Nya looks up, the manacles round her wrist weighing her down, and wild fear enters her dark eyes. "What are you doing?" she demands.

"I'm injecting the ninja of lightening, can't you tell?" the woman responds and jabs the syringe in the top of Jay's shoulder.

"What is it for?" Nya asks, concerned for her boyfriend's safety.

Captain Miller turns round and says, "You will find out in due time."

* * *

Kai does a sweep of the territory, finding nothing but bodies of natives strewn about the ground. He covers his nose from the overwhelming stench of rotting flesh. Vultures peck at the carrion, making him sick to his stomach. He couldn't vomit even if he wanted to. He hasn't eaten in days and is desperate to find his brothers and sister, but first, he needs provisions in order to survive. He moves through a burnt down, primitive village. There had been some sort of slaughter, however, most likely, not from wild animals. Bullet holes pierced some of the walls, displaying it is not a what, but a-who did this. Kai presumes the people died in the hands of the hunters He hears a sniffle and whirls round, grabbing a knife that had been stuck in a body. He finds it grotesque, yet he needs to be armed. The sound is from a little straw hut. He cautiously approaches the abode, holding the blade out, alert, ready for whatever is in there.

He ducks his head low as he goes through the open doorway (if you can even call it that) and drops the weapon. His face softens to sorrow and pity as he gazes upon a girl of about fourteen years old hugging her legs in terror, staring at him. "Are you alright?" Kai asks as cautiously approaches her.

She glances down at the knife then back at Kai, eyeing him suspiciously. She licks her dry lips and puts a hand behind her back speaking softly, "Who are you?"

"I'm Kai and am here to help you." He stretches out a hand, quite slowly, towards her. The girl's eyes flash red as she pulls her hand from behind her back, thrusting a knife into Kai's side, squirting blood all over her face.

"You shouldn't trust anyone, ninja," she says in a cold, menacing, metallic voice as Kai writhes in pain, holding his hand against his side, bleeding profusely.


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

The Beginning

Kai doubles over, striving to maintain his balance and keep from losing control of the situation. He gasps, "What… are you doing?"

"Capturing you for the real hunt. The real game has just begun. We have Jay and Nya with us and now we are after you." The robot girl responds and yanks the blade out of him. Kai screams and grabs the robot's knife, pulling it out of her hand. He casts it aside and leaps onto her. _She's built for deception, and maybe combat, but I think I can defeat her. _He lands on top of her on the ground, pinning her arms down. The robot screeches with wild fury and her red eyes turn dark purple as two metal, sharp claws come out of her shoulders, grasping Kai by the throat. She stands up, raising him in the air, laughing. Kai kicks and pulls on the claws, but cannot match their strength. She slams him against the wall, knocking him out.

"You lose."

* * *

"Zane," Lloyd speaks quietly, fearing he damaged his brother for life, "Zane can you hear me?" He holds back tears from his eyes as he squeezes Zane's cold hand. _What am I going to do? Did I kill him or is he in shock? If something happens to him, I will not be able to forgive myself. _"Zane, please, wake up. At least let me know you're alive. I'm sorry; I'm so sorry." The tears stream down his face uncontrollably. Zane's finger twitches slightly, indeed, if Lloyd hadn't held his brothers hand, he wouldn't have noticed it. The Golden Ninja stares at the ice ninja in relief and anxiety.

Zane barely moves his lips, whispering, so that Lloyd bends down in order to hear him, "Don't use your powers, no matter what."

"Don't speak. You need to rest; we must get help, find the others, and get out of here. Don't worry; I'll get help. Please hang in there, please."

A droid, resembling a man, strides up to them, laughing, "What brotherly love! You're going to need it when we take you back, ninja!" Ten human-looking robots surround the two in a circle. Claws attached to tubes come out of their shoulders and wrap round Zane and Lloyd, covering them entirely. The droid shouts over their muffled screams, "You lose."

* * *

"You know what, Sensei, I think we should look on that stretch of land again, just in case. We've searched all of Ninjago, and even the dark island, and we still haven't found them," Cole says to Wu.

"That's exactly what I had in mind," Wu gets out of his chair, setting his tea on the table and grabbing his bow staff. Beep! Cole checks a message on his phone and his face turns pale. "What is it?" Wu asks. Cole shows the message, and Sensei drops his staff, eyes wide, his mouth open in shock.

**I know that is short, but I am trying to make the to write more. I didn't ****understand what 'iggy101' meant by the Hunger Games. I have only read four chapters of the book.**


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

The Game

On the phone is a picture of Jay chained to a post, with bloody gashes and lash marks covering his sickly body. He's unconscious. Nya is next to him, held by Captain Miller by a chain, wrapped round her shoulders, with desperation in her dark eyes. The message says: _Follow this map in order to find them. Take Garmadon, Misako, and Sensei Wu along with you. If you don't, they will die._

Sensei stares at it intently, concern written all over his care-worn face. _Nya, I'm coming to save you. Just wait for me_, Cole speaks to himself.

* * *

Zane opens his eyes, rolling his head to his left; the hard, stone floor causes his weak body to ache. He is in a stone cell, with metal bars in front of him, which looks like the only thing that isn't old and worn out. To his right on the wall is a small slit, with darkness being the single thing filtering through. He can barely see anything. He moves his arm to open his compartment, pulling the front of his gi down and gazes at his chest in horror. The front of it is ripped off, like a box without a lid filled with gears. He doesn't remember what happened and takes a moment to recollect everything. _Micro bugs, Lloyd, golden power, robots, claws, and what else? I think they knocked us out and brought us, here. The question is, where am I and where is Lloyd? _

"Alright everyone, you are in phase two of my game," a voice says out of nowhere, "This is the real hunt; listen carefully to my instructions. Zane will be released from his cell first, then Jay. Both will fight until one knocks the other till he cannot move. The winner fights Nya next, then Kai, then Lloyd. The remaining contestant knocks out team number two. Round three is where the winner gets to kill everyone then stay as my personal servant forever."

"No! We will never kill our family!" another voice that sounds like Nya shouts.

_Are the others here? _"Nya, are you there?" Zane calls.

"Yes, Jay, Kai, and Lloyd are here as well," she responds, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," he says to her, not quite certain if he actually is, "You! I know it's you, Jason! Listen to me right now; if any of my family is harmed, I with kill you even with my bare hands!"

Jason laughs and replies softly, "I won't harm them, you will."

"No, I will not!" Zane speaks defiantly.

"That will depend on how strong your will is, ninja." There is a buzz that sounds in Zane's cell; the door swings wide open, but all he does is stare at it, unwilling to hurt any of his loved ones. However, Jason has other plans than being sentimental and Zane finds himself standing up, against his own will, and racing out of the cell. He halts just outside of it to see Jay exiting his, with bright, red, merciless eyes, with a ninja hand claw. Spikes protrude from each glove.

"Jay!" Zane exclaims, "What have you done to him?"

"Only made him willing to fight you, till he cannot move."

Jay hisses and leaps forward hands stretched towards the ninja of ice. Zane swerves to the left, while his assailant slams his hands and face against the wall. Jay backs up and charges Zane again, without hesitation, smacking his hands against the robot's shoulders, sliding them down his arms. Zane grabs Jay's wrists and swings him against the wall again, pinning him against it. "Jay," Zane screams desperately, "snap out of it!" Jay only hisses and knocks his head into Zane's, causing the Nindroid to release him from his grip.

**Thank you for notifying me by what you meant. :)**


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Assailants

Zane blinks, his vision momentarily blurred. Jay wraps both hands round the ice ninja's neck, pulling him into his own knee. Zane doubles over as he receives another knee in his mid-section. He moves away into another prison cell with his hand stretched behind him, searching for a door or anything to help him escape the tight area. No, there is nothing. He backs up against a corner, watching his brother snarl and raise a fist. Zane ducks as Jay punches the wall, cracking several bricks. Zane wraps his arms round Jay's waist and pushes him as hard as he is capable of. The lightning ninja screams in frustration and slams his elbow into his opponent's back, then sweeps his leg against Zane's, causing the Nindroid to drop on both knees.

* * *

"Jay, Zane!" Nya calls to them frantically, but to no avail. She receives no response, just the ninja' screams of outrage and the horrible sounds of blows being delivered, most likely to Zane, she supposed. He would never try to harm her boyfriend. _Jay, please don't kill him. Please return to yourself. Wait a minute, if he was turned evil, how did he. Could it be that shot the woman gave him? It looked as if she injected a sort of microchip in him, but she gave me a shot as well. Will I-no I would never harm any of them. Will I? Jay I need you. _ Suddenly, her eyes flash red and her cell opens. She exits her holding place, picks up a Chinese chain whip, and heads towards the clamor.

* * *

_I have to stop him! _Zane strives to wrench Jay's ninja claws off his throat, but cannot match his assailant's new evil strength. _I'm sorry, but you leave me with no other alternatives. _Zane kicks Jay's shin and breaks free from his grip. He drives a fist into his brother's stomach; then swiftly presses an accupoint, causing Jay to pass out. He catches him and lays him carefully on the floor.

"Impressive, Frosty," Nya says to him in a slightly metallic voice as she strides up to him from behind, "now that I know what you did to my boyfriend, I won't fall for your trap."

Zane whirls round and looks at her despondently. His eyes catch the cruel whip with utter uncertainty as to what he ought to do. _Calm down Zane. Think this through; think! _ Nya swings the chain at him, and he swerves to the side, missing hitting his head by a hair. She swings it a second time, driving the sharp point into Zane's "skull". He screams in pain and grabs it with his hand and yanks it out as she kicks him, right between his legs.

* * *

"Dr. Julien!" Cole calls to him from outside, while holding the dragon's chain, "Are you ready yet?"

"I won't be ready for a long time. Go on without me and send the dragon back. I'm doing something that might save everyone's life!" Julien responds.

"Okay, then we waited for nothing. Let's go boy!" Cole mounts the dragon, along with Wu, Garmadon, and Misako. He pushes his heels into the animal's scaly side and pulls the reins. The Ultra Dragon ascends into the air and flies for miles and miles as swiftly as it can go. They have left Ninjago.


	17. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Hopeless?

Dr. Julien connects the final wire with a sigh of relief. He closes the panel and puts the device in his pocket, along with another curious object. _I'm coming, Zane. Wait for me. _He pushes his glasses against his nose and exits his workshop, waiting for the Ultra Dragon to pick him up.

* * *

Zane stares at evil Jay and Nya, lightly touching the hole in the side of his head, waiting for them to make a move, wondering how long he could last. Jay had woken up and now he is attempting to stop two instead of one. He's cornered. There is no way of escape from the cell. Fighting is inevitable, however, he could stop them without hurting them, maybe. He calculates the probability and winces when he reaches the final answer. 0.05 percent. Jay and Nya exchange glances and nod, seemingly understanding each other. _This is not going to be good_, Zane thinks, while watching them intently. Jay grabs hold of Nya's chain whip, while she holds the other end, and swings her at Zane with immense force. Zane tucks his head against his left shoulder and leans his right shoulder downwards, rolling on the ground just at the perfect moment.

Nya misses him, but quickly thrusts her leg against the wall, bouncing off and landing on both feet. Jay lets go of the whip and charges Zane in the front, while Nya rushes up from behind. Zane rolls to the side and leaps up in time to see the evil couple slam into each other. They aren't even stunned! Both turn to him and attack him again.

* * *

Jason sits in front of a computer, gazing at the monitors with an entertained expression on his merciless face. _Maybe I should bring Kai in for some more fun. _He opens Kai's cell from the computer and picks up a little remote, pressing a few buttons, smiling. _Zane, you're going to wish you were dead._

* * *

Kai lies in a pool of blood in his cell, eyes shut tightly. His left hand is against his side, the other holding one of the bars of his cell, making his knuckles turn white as his face. He stands straight up, his eyes now red, and exits when the door opens, grabbing two knives off the weapon rack, not too far away; he races to Jay's cell without difficulty, as if he is a droid without pain receptors. He runs amidst the clamor and swings both blades at Zane, who has an arm wrapped round Jay's throat, with Nya on his back, biting him.

_Oh, great! Kai's here too! _Zane heaves up, throwing Nya off him as Kai slashes his arm. He releases Jay and ducks as Kai swings the second blade. He grabs the fire ninja's arm and twists it, making him drop one of the knives. Nya and Jay grab Zane from behind and slam him against the wall. Kai throws the other knife into Zane's shoulder, pinning him.

"Now to finish the job," Kai says. He picks up the other blade and aims it at Zane's energy source. A shriek suddenly echoes throughout the building and everyone turns round to look.

"What is that?" Jay asks.

"Go check it out." Nya tells him, "My brother and I will take care of our prey."

Zane knows this is his opportunity. He reaches back and plucks the blade out of his back, grimacing. He whirls round and grabs Nya, putting the knife against her throat. He doesn't intend to harm her, just to get to Lloyd. "Back off!"

Kai laughs fiercely and says, "You're too soft-hearted, Tin Can! You would never hurt her."

Jay returns with Lloyd, holding a knife to his throat as well, speaking in an irate tone, "Let her go or he dies!"

"No, let him go first!" Zane retorts.

"I can't do that," Jay responds. Lloyd screams as his body lights up silver with a tint of red.

**By the way, the roll Zane did is a real martial art method in fighting. I don't know if I explained it well. Warning: Do not attempt!**


	18. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Frozen Julien

"Our target is heading towards here. It's only a matter of time before Zane loses his reason to live," the fourteen year old girl says through her binoculars, while pressing a finger against her ear-piece, smirking as Jason responds. "I got it. Make sure he doesn't die until Zane comes out of the building, right?"

Zane's eyes flash red while Lloyd screams at the top of his lungs. His body shines brightly, blinding all the humans. A light flashes, and everyone's eyes return to normal, but no one moves. Zane stares at them. They are frozen. Why isn't he? "Zane, can you hear me?" a voice that sounds like his father speaks to him anxiously.

"Father, is that you?" Zane asks.

"Yes, but I can't explain everything right now. Listen carefully. Everyone is frozen by my invention except for you and me, for up to five minutes. You need to find the remote controlling your friends, but you must make haste. Be careful son."

Zane darts out of the room without hesitation and races across the long, narrow hallway, past many prison cells. Soon, he reaches a flight of stone stairs and begins ascending up and up, panting, pressing on for everyone's life. The ceiling extends quite high, perhaps about eighty feet. _How am I going to make it on time? _He suddenly remembers! "Ninja go!" He whips into his ice tornado and is up in a matter of moments. In front of him are many doors with numbers on them. He opens each one as he moves across the area, but most are empty, or filled with frozen men and droids_. Come on, Zane! You have to find them! _The next door is locked, arousing his suspicion. To convince him this is particularly important room even more, the sign on it says: _Authorized Personnel Only_. Zane rips the knob off and shoves it open, finding several large computers on a desk, with someone frozen in front of it. Even from behind, Zane knows it is Jason. He tells himself he can deal with the wretch later and that saving his family is his priority.

He rushes up to the computers and checks the monitors. No one is moving. He grabs the mouse and clicks on the folders, but finds over 1000 of them. He does a quick scan, but finds nothing about remotes or chips; he is growing anxious. The clock on the wall above him seems to tick rapidly. _Do it again. You might have missed something crucial. _He scans a second time and comes across a file called: _My Ultimate Plot_. He clicks on it and sees hundreds of files about micro bugs, remotes, and chips. There are various things but he just needs to save everyone. He hastily opens up his arm and grabs a plug his father had recently added to him, for practical purposes, including downloading. He also pulls out a flash drive and hooks it to the plug, then to the computer.

He needs approximately a minute and a half to complete the download. As he waits, he becomes aware of the information, making his skin crawl at how murderous Jason is. Finally, he clicks on the 'Safe to Remove Hardware' and pulls out the flash drive, along with the plug, tucking it back in his arm, and closing the lid. "I have it, Father," he says and turns. A cold hand grabs his arm. He's run out of time.

Jason stands up and chuckles, "Did you really think you could defeat me?"

About a dozen droids pour into the room, claws extended from their shoulders. Zane doesn't know what to do, but just stares at Jason, feeling as if he might explode. _Don't get emotional, Zane. Your family's counting on you. You may have your chance to defeat him, someday. In order to deactivate the chips in all of us, I need to destroy the computer; but that's a high risk. All of us might die. However, it's better than being evil. _

"Well, Hawthorn? Jason says smugly, "What are _you_ going to do?"

"I surrender," Zane announces, turning towards his arch enemy. Jason's smile fades and he opens his mouth to speak, when Zane shoves him aside and slams his fist into the computer.


	19. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Target

"No!" Jason screams as the screen shatters and turns blank. Zane picks up the main computer and slams it against the window, shattering it as well, and dumping it out. He leaps out the window, whipping into his tornado and breaking right through the plastic canvas of a jeep. He lands in the back seat and rolls out of the open door of the vehicle. He stands up and darts away from the building. _I have to get help. Please hang in there guys. _The droids leap out of the building and pursue him, rapidly gaining on him. Zane risks a glance back, seeing claws extending towards him as he reaches the jungle. He swerves to the left as it grasps his leg, yanking him to the dirt. Zane twists his body as more claws grab his arms and legs.

"Let go of him!" Sensei, Garmadon, Cole, and Misako raced over to the droids. _Finally, we now have an advantage_, Zane thinks.

* * *

"How, how are we okay?" Nya asks, appalled that they were attacking Lloyd and Zane just moments before they were frozen.

"Where's Zane?" Jay asks, having no recollection as to them becoming paralyzed.

"Guys, we better find him before something bad happens," Kai tells them. They head out the cell, entering the hallway.

"Which way do we go?" Lloyd inquires.

"Look!" Jay points at a shiny object on the ground. He picks it up, examining it carefully, "It's from Zane. There are several more on the ground."

He probably went that way," Kai says and they head to the stairs. Robots are racing up them. "Let's get them!"

"Ninja go!" they say in unison, besides Nya and whip into their elemental tornadoes. Once they are up, they head to where the droids are going. They enter a room with snapped wires and a shattered window. Broken glass litters the floor and the robots are leaping out the window. They all head to it as the last droid jump out, and lean out, seeing Zane, Sensei, Garmadon, Cole, and Misako, surrounded by the droids.

"Ninja go!" the ninja do spinjitzu, leaping out and attacking the robots, while still spinning. Soon, they are all defeated. "Nya!" Jay and Cole call to her with their arms spread out as she races out of the building. She wraps her arms tightly round Jay, crying, and laughing at the same moment.

She turns to Zane and everyone hugs him too. "I thought we killed you!" Kai exclaimed, "We're so sorry."

"That's okay." Zane responds, "It was Jason controlling you."

"Who's Jason?" Jay asks.

Before Zane can respond Dr. Julien rushes up to the group, calling, "Zane, you're okay!" Zane runs toward his father, happier than he ever could be, but the moment is utterly destroyed. A shot is heard, and the target slumps in Zane's arms.

"Father!" Zane screams, "No, please don't leave me! No!"

Everyone gathers round Dr. Julien, who speaks softly, "I'm sorry I can't stay with you anymore, my son. I love you." His hand slips from Zane's grasp, as his soul departs from the world, forever.

"No!" Zane wails, tears streaming from his eyes. A piece of him is taken away at that moment, never to recover.

**So, this is how Dr. Julien dies and Zane's system changes on the rebooted series. Believe it or not, this is the end. I know it's sad, but hopefully, my next one will not end with death. This story is shorter than I thought it would be.**


End file.
